Kernel Panic after Ubuntu & GRUB2 install

[MaxRabbit]

I have hated LILO since I installed it, and so today I installed Ubuntu 9.10 in a partition between Windows XP and Backtrack 3 on my HDD. Grub2 overwrote LILO, and it seemed all was good.

But then I attempted to boot into Backtrack 3 and got:

Kernel panic - not syncing: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on unknown-block(0,0)

Have looked through over 10 threads about this, but none had a solution or were similar to my issue. I would greatly appreciate a fix from you experienced guys

[Barry]

Looks like your grub.conf is pointing to the wrong place.

[MaxRabbit]

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried root=(hd0,0) clear through (hd0,7) but never got any luck. Can you help me figure out what value is correct, if this is the issue?

[drgr33n]

More info please !! does xp and ubuntu boot ? How many partitions ? What do you have set in your cfg file ? You need to put as much detail about your hardware and setup as possible for anyone to be able to help you.

To try and answer this with the information you have provided would be a stab in the dark !!!

[MaxRabbit]

More info please !! does xp and ubuntu boot ? How many partitions ? What do you have set in your cfg file ? You need to put as much detail about your hardware and setup as possible for anyone to be able to help you.

To try and answer this with the information you have provided would be a stab in the dark !!!

I understand that you need more info; I was just saying in my last post what info do you need to be better able to help me determine the correct value

I will provide what you ask:

Both XP and Ubuntu boot fine. There are 4 partitions: XP, Backtrack 3 and swap partition, and Ubuntu.
It's all on one hard drive.

Here is my grub.cfg:

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by /usr/sbin/grub-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
if [ -s /boot/grub/grubenv ]; then
  have_grubenv=true
  load_env
fi
set default="4"
if [ ${prev_saved_entry} ]; then
  saved_entry=${prev_saved_entry}
  save_env saved_entry
  prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
fi
insmod ext2
set root=(hd0,5)
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 59cfeae8-0318-4c7e-a5f9-d8acf78b57c9
if loadfont /usr/share/grub/unicode.pf2 ; then
set gfxmode=1024x768
  insmod gfxterm
  insmod vbe
  if terminal_output gfxterm ; then true ; else
    # For backward compatibility with versions of terminal.mod that don't
    # understand terminal_output
    terminal gfxterm
  fi
fi
if [ ${recordfail} = 1 ]; then
  set timeout=-1
else
  set timeout=8
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###
set menu_color_normal=white/black
set menu_color_highlight=black/white
### END /etc/grub.d/05_debian_theme ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic" {
        recordfail=1
        if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi
	set quiet=1
	insmod ext2
	set root=(hd0,5)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 59cfeae8-0318-4c7e-a5f9-d8acf78b57c9
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=59cfeae8-0318-4c7e-a5f9-d8acf78b57c9 ro  vga=792 splash  quiet splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
menuentry "Ubuntu, Linux 2.6.31-14-generic (recovery mode)" {
        recordfail=1
        if [ -n ${have_grubenv} ]; then save_env recordfail; fi
	insmod ext2
	set root=(hd0,5)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set 59cfeae8-0318-4c7e-a5f9-d8acf78b57c9
	linux	/boot/vmlinuz-2.6.31-14-generic root=UUID=59cfeae8-0318-4c7e-a5f9-d8acf78b57c9 ro single  vga=792 splash
	initrd	/boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-14-generic
}
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+)" {
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin
}
menuentry "Memory test (memtest86+, serial console 115200)" {
	linux16	/boot/memtest86+.bin console=ttyS0,115200n8
}
### END /etc/grub.d/20_memtest86+ ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry "Microsoft Windows XP Professional (on /dev/sda1)" {
	insmod ntfs
	set root=(hd0,1)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set ac585f52585f1b02
	drivemap -s (hd0) ${root}
	chainloader +1
}
menuentry "BackTrack (on /dev/sda2)" {
	insmod reiserfs
	set root=(hd0,2)
	search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set c9b5a0ef-debb-43e5-b3bd-7386d0dccd3a
	linux /boot/vmlinuz root=current ro vga = 769
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

[drgr33n]

First thing is to get rid of that search line, its not necessary really ..

search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set c9b5a0ef-debb-43e5-b3bd-7386d0dccd3a

You could try changing root to your partition ..

root=/dev/sda2

Also is your backtrack 4 install installed on a reiserfs ??

[MaxRabbit]

Thanks Dr Green

I removed the search and nothing changed. Then with root=/dev/sda2 I get a message saying that the drive doesn't exist. I'm certain that it is /sda2.

It's Backtrack 3, not 4, and yep it's ReiserFS.

[Track404]

I don't know if ( sudo lshw -C disk ) is a useful command in this case being I do not dual boot with partitions but the command should list available drives, it may list the correct (hd) as well.

[twistr]

Can you see the BT partition from Ubuntu ? You should have, as well as the Windows. If yes, then try exploring the old lilo.conf, stored on BT partition, it should be still there, I suppose. I'm not sure if it helps, but may give some clues.

[Barry]

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried root=(hd0,0) clear through (hd0,7) but never got any luck. Can you help me figure out what value is correct, if this is the issue?

Beats me, I trust grub2 about as far as I can throw my Element.